WEEK 1 – What is autobiography? | Autobiographical Media

WEEK 1 – What is autobiography? | Austar vannak (s3753838)

From this week’s reading, the prompt discussed how the meaning of autobiographical media came to be and how it had often helped marked the identity of the main character and narrator. According to Lejeune (1989, p.14), autobiographical media can be found in a variety of forms, but they always imply a reference. He went on to say that while the audience might disagree and draw meaning out of the likeness, they would never argue about the identity. This comment piqued my curiosity because this strategy is commonly used in songwriting. As the audience attempts to identify and interpret each lyrical phrase.

Recently, I came upon a musical piece titled “my future,” which was composed and sung by Billie Eilish, an American pop singer. The song, ‘my future’ was delicate to the singer’s celebration of her journey and of self-discovery. In particular, I admired the phrase where she sang, ‘I’m in love with my future. can’t wait to meet her’ (Billie Eilish 2021). Based on an article written by Daly (2020), she stated that my future gentle piano notes, Billie Eilish‘s soft and yet crooned performance is as if the pop star is serenading to herself with the most gorgeous self-love song of the year. 

Consequently, I also had a chance to re-discover and reflect on myself these past few months. From one of my Instagram posts, there’s a caption that wrote, ‘I made my first steps towards the responsibilities of “adulthood” yesterday…‘ (vannakaustargalleries 2021) describing my first steps into adulthood. In some ways, this contemplative piece is similar to Billie Eilish’s song “my future”. I have self-reflected and am more confident in striving for what lies ahead for me, despite having slipped on taking that perfect first step. Simply put, autobiographical media is a type of media writing that allows authors to freely express their feelings and interests through a variety of structures and styles.

Figure 1: STEPS TO ADULTHOOD by vannakaustargalleries (Austar Vannak), 2021, photograph.

316 words

 

Reference List: 

Billie Eilish 2020, Billie Eilish – my future, YouTube, 31 July, Billie Eilish, viewed 08 March 2022, <https://youtu.be/Dm9Zf1WYQ_A>.

Daly, R 2020, ‘Billie Eilish’s new song ‘My Future’ is a much-needed piece of positive pop’, NME, viewed 08 March 2022, <https://www.nme.com/en_au/reviews/billie-eilish-my-future-track-review-2719929>.

Philippe, L 1989, ‘The autobiographical pact’, in Eakin P.J (ed.), On autobiography,  University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp. 3–30. 

Sam, S 2020, ‘Billie Eilish reveals hidden meaning behind My Future lyrics and video’, PopBuzz, viewed 09 March 2022, <https://www.popbuzz.com/music/artists/billie-eilish/news/my-future-lyrics-video-meaning/>.

Vannak, A 2021, STEPS TO ADULTHOOD, photography, Instagram, viewed  09 March 2022, <https://www.instagram.com/p/CYfr5JDLX3Y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link>.